Not the Best of Ideas
by Klaelman
Summary: Hidden Cloud has a habit of 'acquiring' new bloodlines by kidnapping promising kunoichi. Shikako Nara does not approve. Fanfiction of Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen. PROBABLY COMPLETE! MAYBE!
1. Chapter 1

Gentle rocking, dark nothingness. Stabs of pain from my ankles, my wrists, and behind my eyes. A sick, roiling sensation in my stomach. I tried to cling to wakefulness, but it was no use—I dropped back into unconsciousness.

Some time later—anywhere from a few minutes to a few days, I had no idea—I woke up more fully than before. My throat felt as dry as the desert, my body simultaneously chilled and sweating, feverish and uneasy. I reached for my chakra, instinctively tried to cycle some to sooth my aching body, but it responded only sluggishly. I tried to turn over, and that was when I realized that my hands and feet were bound securely behind my back. My eyes shot open, met by intense blackness, as deep as midnight on a moonless night.

Memories came back, then—exiting the theatre at the chuunin exams, being separated from everyone (classic isolation scenario, in hindsight), the cloying chemical smell of the cloth over my face, arms holding me immobile as I passed out. A headache throbbed in my scull, but I worked to ignore it. Obviously I needed to be as clear-minded as possible to ascertain every potential detail that could be of use to me.

I tested my bindings, but there was no give. My hands were twisted and secured back-to-back, my fingers bound without any freedom of movement. I tugged them up and my ankles twisted up, telling me that there was a rope securing them together to further prohibit movement. But my mouth and eyes were uncovered, so I there was clearly no threat of me making noise to attract the wrong kind of attention for my captors.

Ah. A power play.

I was tied up, but they—whoever they were, and I had a few suspicions—were in a position of enough strength that I couldn't accomplish anything by yelling. Waking up bound, with no freedom of movement, in a secure environment, with no hope of escape or rescue, could start to break quite a few shinobi before any sort of interrogation began.

Well. Quite a few shinobi who weren't _Nara_.

We were born to shadow, it was a part of our identity. Waking up in it was almost a comfort, compared to many alternatives.

I tried shaking off the effects of whatever drug I'd been given, to manipulate my chakra, but it was still sluggish in its response. I could pull it, even shape it a little, but trying to force it into a sharp edge or even emit any sort of light was beyond my abilities at this point.

The muscles in my arms and legs cramped from being strained out of position for so long. I tried to move, to return feeling to them, but doing so only sent jolts of pain from my wrists and ankles. I did my best to ease the burning in my muscles without cutting off circulation to my hands and feet, but there was little I could do.

The light _tap, tap_ of footsteps broke the monotony of quiet solitude before long. The noise grew slowly until they stopped nearby, followed by the clink of keys and tumblers in a lock. Then, the door opened, letting in the first bit of light I'd seen since I'd woken up.

Silhouetted in the doorframe was a man, dressed in robes instead of ninja garb. I blinked my eyes against the light, trying to make out as much as I could. He was tall, his head only a little bit below the doorframe, and what I could see of his face was lined with wrinkles. I could feel his chakra, that of a higher-level ninja, and that plus his age meant that he was quite capable. And this was a face I'd seen before.

I used the opportunity to take a quick glance around my room. I was lying on a wooden floor, a little dusty but otherwise clean, the walls consisting of hard-packed dirt. There was no light fixture of any kind in the room, no shelves or bedding, nothing that pointed to this room being used for any other purpose aside from storage.

"Shikako Nara," his voice cut the silence. It was strong and rough, belying his apparent age. "Genin, Hidden Leaf, 13 years of age. 17 D-rank Missions, 7 C-Rank missions, 3 B-Rank missions, 8 A-Rank missions, 1 S-Rank mission. Daughter of the Jounin Commander and Head of the Nara Clan. Student of Hatake Kakashi. Teammate of Sasuke Uchiha and Uzumaki Naruto. Finished top amongst kunoichi in your graduation class. Aside from chuunin-level capabilities in clan techniques, sports a variety of Earth techniques, as well as developing capabilities manipulating other chakra natures. Possesses the Sword of the Thunder God, the notorious weapon of the Second Hokage. Most significantly, shows signs of growing skills in Fuinjutsu."

He stopped, having clearly gotten to the end of whatever dossier his people had been able to compile on me. Perhaps this was meant to unnerve and intimidate me, but most of that information was readily available or lightly guarded. I wasn't impressed.

I drew myself up so that I wasn't lying on the floor anymore, perched against the back wall. "Yeah, that's me. And you're Matsuo, Jounin of Hidden Cloud, head of the 'Bloodline Reclamation Project.' I've seen your bingo book page. It doesn't matter, though. Soon enough, you'll regret being a part of this."

He chuckled at my show of bravado, ignoring my knowledge of his identity. "That's the most common response I find when we make a new acquisition. Unsurprising, as your mission history shows. One doesn't survive at that age without some capabilities. But you're hardly the most threatening kunoichi we've had in these cells. But don't worry about that, you won't be here for long.

"They also threaten retribution from their clan, or village. But let me tell you this, girl—no single kunoichi has ever been enough to start a war over. Soon enough, you'll just be another part of the Reclamation Project."

I digested that information for a moment as he turned to leave, continuing on as he reached for the door. "I'm not threatening any retribution from my clan or village. Mark my words: I'll make you regret this myself. When I kill you, you'll live long enough to understand the mistake you've made here today."

He grinned, showing off straight white teeth glinting in the light of coming from the hallway. "That's a good one! I'll look forward to your reaction tomorrow when the retrieval team comes for you. I'll have to ask them to take the _scenic route_ with you." He laughed, a hideously sinister cackle that made my blood boil.

It's not something people talk about, generally, being captured. We try not to think about the possibility, but it's just negligent to ignore the darkest aspects of shinobi life. Because it's easy to consider that you might die on a mission; shinobi die every day on missions. Sometimes you run into other ninja, sometimes you make a mistake, sometimes it's just your time, and there's not much you can do aside from train and become stronger.

But death is, most definitely, not the worst thing that could happen. Morino Ibiki showed us the painful results of his own job—scars and burns, evidence of the torture being captured could subject you to. We are taught, a little, how to resist torture, but there's only so much of that you can do without actually harming someone. And that's not even talking about the more base tortures many shinobi enjoy subjecting kunoichi to. And sometimes, if the culprit is a hidden village, a kunoichi from a clan could be a prize for the children she could bear.

It's a hard world we live in. I'd considered the possibility that I could be targeted, as the daughter of a clan head, but how do you _really_ prepare yourself for the possibility? You train, and you grow stronger, and, if necessary, you fight to the death.

Or wait for your enemy to make a mistake. Which he did; he underestimated me.

I had been frisked me for weapons, removed anything I could possibly use to free myself, and drugged me so I couldn't use my chakra for any sort of technique. But I could feel my necklace still hanging around my neck. They'd probably performed a cursory check, but obviously hadn't realized what it could do. And I might not have fine control over my chakra, but I was strong enough that I could still manipulate it enough to feed it into the Gelel stone.

I kept feeding chakra into the stone, and felt my entire body growing insubstantial. Soon, I _was_ shadow, leaving my bindings behind, my body gliding silently to the door. The door was solid, but there were artfully disguised vents to allow for airflow—clearly it wouldn't do for your prisoners to die before they could be bred.

I focused for a moment, and narrowed my entire body to fit it through the vent. It was a strange sensation, almost mind-warping, as I stretched myself out and crawled through the vent until I was entirely outside of the door.

If you were wondering how I could make it work…well, I was from a clan of shadow manipulators, and I was made of shadow. Do the math.

The hallway was almost entirely dark, dim emergency lighting being the only source of illumination, throwing the entire hallway into shadow. I was at the end of a hallway, where five other cells were situated, clearly unused and open. I was relieved, a little, because I couldn't leave someone behind, but I didn't know if I could get someone else out of here.

I glided through the hallway, until it ended at an intersection. The ground and ceiling were all packed dirt, telling me I was underground. There were doors here and there, into other secret rooms, a few of them occupied. I thought about it for a moment, and turned towards the closest door, sneaking in through the crack of space between the door and the ground.

And yeah, that felt even _weirder._ But I tried to ignore it.

The room I was in was some sort of storage space. There were boxes of documents, tools and weapons lining either wall. A man sat at a desk, facing away from me, concentrating on something in his hands. A familiar _fwoosh_ told me that he was holding my _lightsaber_. Well, that just wouldn't do, would it?

He didn't even hear me as I sent a shadow stitch right through his heart. He jerked and gasped, then gurgled and slumped forward, dead. I ignored the feeling of a part of my body thrusting through another person and became corporeal again, grabbed my sword, then paused.

There were a _lot_ of documents and weapons in this room. A potential goldmine of information. I grinned and grabbed a blank scroll from the man's desk; it would only take a few minutes to seal away all this stuff.

I slinked my way down another hallway, once again in shadow, taking a few seconds at each room I discovered to do a quick check for anything valuable. Mostly, I found personal rooms, or the occasional office; after my initial success, I replicated my process and came away with several rooms full of valuable Intel for T&I to go through. Most importantly, I think, a map of over a dozen facilities run by Hidden Cloud, which told me that I was in a small trade city on the border of Land of Lightning. That had been in a room with a woman who was at most a few years older than me. She died just as easy as the rest.

It might have bothered me, killing these people indiscriminately, but they were the enemy, and a party to what Hidden Cloud planned on _using me_ for.

I felt no guilt.

I went through the entire underground compound, and aside from the few people I came across working in offices, it was empty. I took what looked valuable and left everything else. Soon, I found a staircase leading up to a trapdoor. My chakra sense told me no one was around the other side, but I took no chances and slipped my way through the cracks into a storage space filled with crates. The door was skillfully hidden under a false crate, wedged inside a long aisle of crates in some sort of warehouse. The warehouse was clearly a front for Hidden Cloud operations.

I stopped and focused on my senses, finding only a few people anywhere nearby. One stood out as being familiar—Matsuo, the head of this operation. Not someone I was willing to let go alive.

I snuck through the aisles, slinking over and through several warning traps designed to let Matsuo know if someone unexpected was around. I turned a corner and found an office, walled off from the rest of the building. The windows were opaque, showing only shadow through, but undoubtedly clear from the other side. One chakra signature shone bright as lightning from inside—Matsuo.

I wanted him dead. And I knew just how to do it.

I stood outside the Warehouse, hidden in the shadow (but not actually _in_ shadow) of another building across the street, coaxing my chakra through my coils and working through the last dregs of the suppression drugs still in my system. I wasn't up to a hundred percent, maybe only about ninety, but it was good enough.

The nearly-full moon told me it was about two in the morning, three days after I'd been snatched from the chuunin exams. I had no idea what everyone else was doing. By this time, the exams would have been over, and I doubt Tsunade would have stuck around for any period of time. I wondered how my mom and dad were doing, what Shikamaru was thinking, Ino and Chouji and Sasuke, too. How they must be hurting at my disappearance. I thought about all of them, and what the rest of my life would have been like had Hidden Cloud succeeded in their plans.

I concentrated, and set off the explosive seals I'd taken the time to plant throughout the warehouse.

A giant, roaring fireball burst through the roof of the warehouse, sending splinters flying in all directions. The concussive force blew out windows throughout the area, although thankfully, I was the only one anywhere nearby. The fire might spread to nearby buildings, but no civilians would be harmed.

By rights, I should have fled the scene the moment I set off the explosions, but I wanted to make sure that Matsuo was dead. And, if I was honest, there was a certain degree of vindictive pleasure I wanted to take in destroying this place. Fire illuminated the smoke pouring through the shredded roof, and I ignored the itchiness in the back of my throat from the smoke in the air.

Then, finally, Matsuo tumbled through the broken doorway. His robes were burned and torn, blood dripping from the stump of his missing left arm. He staggered into the street, clutching at his bleeding appendage, swaying in place and falling to his knees.

I could feel his chakra, flickering as he tried to grasp it, telling me that he was surely going to die. I could have left it there, but…I didn't.

I stepped up to Matsuo, until I was only a few feet away. He looked up, his eyes bleary and unfocused, but I could tell he recognized me from the clenching of his jaw. Blood dripped sluggishly from a gash in his head down his face as he glared up at me.

"I told you that you'd regret it."

Then I took my lightsaber, and cut his fucking head off.


	2. Chapter 2

Silver Queen liked the story, so I decided to turn it into a two-shot. For now, at least. Might have another chapter written at some point.

XXXXX

Killing Matsuo was therapeutic, but ultimately might have not been the best of ideas. From the direction of the border, I could feel more than a dozen chuunin-level chakra signatures approaching at a fast clip. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to slip past them, and engaging any one of them would hold me up enough for the rest to converge. I could probably take two or three, maybe even four, but not all of them.

So I did what anyone would do in my position, standing outside a burning warehouse, wielding a lightsaber, with enemies sure to arrive any second.

I ran.

I don't know what sort of system they use in Cloud to communicate from border outposts to garrisons, but it was clearly much more efficient than I'd expected. Within an hour of my flight, ninja were scouring the countryside for me. My only saving grace was that they didn't know it was me they were looking for, but once someone put two and two together, I was in real trouble.

I suppressed my chakra as much as I could, flitting about towards the east-northeast, laying false trails and taking the occasional trip underground when I could feel enemies closing in. There were enough caves and caverns around to make traveling underground safer—clearly there had once been a network of underground rivers throughout the area; something to remember for when I got back to Konoha—and I spent a couple of nights surprisingly comfortable in a sleeping bag and tent, which I'd had the good sense to take from my captors. Still, I didn't have the chance to move south towards the border; every time I got close, I'd feel the signatures of Cloud ninja patrolling the area, too many to risk capture or pursuit.

Nothing for it, then. I didn't have much choice at this point, and the longer I took to escape, the greater the likelihood of someone finding me. Cloud didn't have the preternatural tracking talents of the Inuzuka, Akimichi, or Hyuuga, but you didn't become the strongest Hidden Village in the land by skimping on diversity in talents. Sooner or later, they'd find me.

So I set the strongest Touch Blast I could. Then I ran as close to the border as I dared, and set off a number of other Touch Blasts, as if I were in a running fight with someone. Sure enough, two thirds of the shinobi in the area turned north towards where I was 'running', and once they were all close enough…I detonated it.

I'd seen videos of atomic explosions in my previous life. Everyone has; whenever you study the Cold War in school, you're shown again and again the devastating footage of nuclear weapon testing, of the aftereffects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I knew that I never wanted to even hint at the possibility of replicating that sort of potential for destruction in this world.

When I set that one Touch Blast, I turned everything up to eleven. It was the biggest, most destructive blast I'd ever managed. Even if the shockwave that whipped through the air from three kilometers away wasn't enough, even if the ground shaking for several seconds didn't tell me anything, the sudden disappearance of fifty seven chakra signatures—some halfway between me and the blast, even—told me everything I needed to know. The mushroom cloud of destruction soared into the clouds, debris and fire raining down across the area.

Note to self: don't teach ANYONE this technique.

XXXXX

The casualties that Cloud suffered made it pretty easy to slip off to the east. I had to hide quickly when two squads of Cloud nin passed by, but by the end of the day, I was on the outskirts of the port town of Shinjimi. It was really more of a fishing village than a port, but there were several commerce vessels docked. One of them flew the flag of the Land of Tea; I headed straight for that one.

A quick henge and I resembled just another fisherman. Brown hair, brown eyes, rugged face, five-o'clock shadow, burly build. I probably wouldn't pass close inspection, but there weren't more than a few genin nearby as a nominal garrison. I adopted the same kind of loping walk common to many of the offshore seamen. I made it through town to the docks without trouble.

Some men were loading a few crates onboard the Land of Tea vessel. One of them looked more grizzled than the others, with a shaggy grey beard and portly belly, overlooking the rest of them and giving orders. I pegged him as the captain of the ship.

"Strap that one down below, quick-like! I want to be out of here before we miss the tide!" He turned to me as I stepped past the crates. "Who th' hell are you? Get out of here, got no use for stragglers!"

"Jirocho-dono would be pleased if you got me out of here," I drawled in my best approximation of the local dialect. That got his attention; he gave me a sly up and down look, but if he saw through my disguise he didn't say anything.

He pondered for a few seconds before he seemed to come to a decision. "A'right, if you're on my ship, you work. Get that crate down below, I want to be gone five minutes ago." He jerked his chin at the last crate on the docks. I nodded and lifted it up; it was heavy, but nothing too excessive. It took a little focus to maintain my balance and the henge, but I kept both.

I climbed back out of the cargo bay, and the captain gave me a knowing look. I met his eyes with my own, and he nodded and yelled, "Get us out of here, boys, I'm done with Lightning. Let's go home!" A ragged cheer rose from the dozen or so men on the ship. Minutes later, we'd cast off, and sailed away from shore.

My stomach was already roiling, and we'd barely been to sea for five minutes. I calmed it with healing chakra which numbed it down to a tolerable discomfort. It was preferable to being chased by Cloud shinobi, undoubtedly. Still…it sucked.

The captain turned to me and said, "You know anything about ships?"

I thought back to our mission in Hidden Snow. "Well…I can cook."

XXXXX

Dinner that night earned me compliments; apparently, the guy who usually cooks thought salt was one of the four food groups. There was some good-natured ribbing over that, but the crew was relaxed and easy-going. I made up a bowl of stew on a tray and carried it to the captain's quarters.

I knocked on his door, and a gruff "Come in" answered. I opened it without spilling the food on the tray. The captain's jacket was hanging on a peg on the wall, showing off a thick woolen shirt buttoned up to his neck. The look he gave me was one of irritated resignation. "Sit down," he ordered.

I did, putting the tray down in a free space on his table. The rest was covered in maps, accounts, and shipping manifests. I met his gaze with my own, waiting for him to ask what he was going to ask.

A few seconds passed and he sighed. His shoulders slumped, and he looked like just another overworked middle-aged man. "Well, you're trouble, I know that. Can't take my ship up to Lightning anymore, thanks to you."

I grimaced. "I'll make sure Jirocho-dono makes it worth your time. On my honor. And if he doesn't," I let go of my henge, startling him with the burst of chakra smoke, "the Nara Clan of Konoha will make it so."

He took a minute to readjust to the idea that he was escorting a ninja instead of some agent of Jirocho's, and then another one to the idea that I wasn't an older man but a young girl instead. I understood; most civilians go their entire lives without even encountering ninja, let alone seeing us up close. And, well, I was a thirteen year old girl.

When he did, he sighed. He looked even more tired, if it was possible. "You're younger than my daughter, and you're a shinobi. What a world this is," he muttered. He was silent for a few more seconds. "Ah, hell. So long as it doesn't get me killed by one o' your lot, I'll see you t' port in Tea."

I blinked in surprise. Then thought about it. Civilians who lived outside hidden villages probably mostly just interacted with missing nin, who were generally unhinged or criminals. Or both. His reaction wasn't unexpected, in that regard.

He was clearly uncomfortable interacting with ninja. I had a hunch that he didn't plan on collecting, regardless of any reassurances I might give him.

Well, that just wasn't going to do. He tensed as I reached into my jacket, but all I pulled out was the sealing scroll full of the stuff from the Hidden Cloud base. I rolled it out, passing by seal after identical seal, until I came to one that looked indistinguishable from the rest.

Well, if you're going to carry things in sealing scrolls, you have to be able to remember where you store what, don't you? Wouldn't do to unseal your tent in a rainstorm only to release your explosive tags. That's a mistake you make _once._

A quick surge of chakra, and a box about one foot square appeared with a puff of smoke. The captain jerked to his feet as the table groaned under the sudden weight. I opened the top and motioned him to look inside. He leaned forward with trepidation, and his jaw dropped.

Inside were over a hundred gems—diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and whatnot. It had to be worth millions. I closed the box and put it on the floor next to his bed, then rolled up my scroll and stowed it back in my jacket. He was dumbfounded. I stood to leave, and his eyes followed me in wonderment.

I performed the henge back into the man. "A Nara always pays her debts." Then I left the cabin.

Later that night, I was laying in my hammock. I thought back to the Cloud ninja in the base, to Matsuo as I cut his head off, to the tremendous explosion that ended the lives of so many shinobi.

I ignored the sick feeling in my stomach, which might have been seasickness—or not. _Oh yes,_ I thought to myself. _A Nara does pay her debts._

XXXXX

Several days later, we made port in the Land of Tea. I left with only a wave to the grizzled old captain, who gave me an inscrutable look, and headed into the city. I doubted Jirocho was back from the exams; they'd ended several days ago, but it took weeks to travel from Grass to the coast. Still, I left a letter at his house with one of his servants, asking only that he make sure the captain and his family were looked after.

It took me only a few hours to cross into Fire Country. Another ten minutes before a patrol was heading in my direction. I stopped in a clearing as the patrol surrounded me and a chuunin cautiously stepped out of the woods.

He was a head taller than me, with light brown hair and dark brown eyes, more wiry than muscled in the way that ninja training for speed over strength are. His mouth was set in a grim line, as if expecting trouble from the start.

"State your name and business," His voice echoed across the clearing. I felt a half-dozen chakra signatures prepare themselves for a fight; I might have been small, but everyone knew that in this world, that didn't mean much.

I cleared my throat, carefully keeping my hands visible as I stood in as unthreatening a stance as I could. "My name is Shikako Nara," I started. "I was in the chuunin exams in Grass when I was kidnapped by agents of Hidden Cloud. I just managed to escape."

That was a rather succinct summation of the events of the last few days.

The chuunin's eyes widened in surprise for a split second before they narrowed. "I see. Do you have the correct codephrase?"

"I have the latest genin one," I replied. He nodded his head and I began, "A shining autumn, clear cards in a wily winter, fireworks on the river, a tense butterfly."

The tension eased from his body, and mine. I wasn't out of the woods yet (pun intended), but I was at least not being treated as an active threat.

I was escorted to the nearest outpost. It was a fully manned security checkpoint, complete with a garrison of ten chuunin, three jounin, two medic nin, prison cells, barracks (underground, of course, for spatial concerns), and real food. I spent some time in the infirmary, being checked out—I had a number of cuts and bruises, but nothing life-threatening—and some in the cafeteria, since it had been almost a week since my last real meal.

I was accompanied by a Jounin I'd seen once or twice but never interacted with. Isobu Hakari was in her late twenties, with a light scar across her right cheek and matching black hair and eyes. We spoke a bit, but there wasn't much to say. After being checked up and eating, I caught a few hours of sleep.

I woke up to a familiar presence hovering over my bed. I cracked open my eyes, looking blearily up spiky silver hair atop a face covered almost entirely with a mask. The one eye was all that was visible, somehow communicating a deep weariness and intense relief. It slowly curved into Kakashi-sensei's familiar substitute for an actual smile, and if his shoulders sagged forward with less laziness than actual relief, I didn't say anything.

"Mah, Shikako-chan. You're late."

I snorted and sat up. It was just so Kakashi-sensei. "Well, sorry. Something came up. I was lost on the path of life."

He nodded sagely, and I felt a sharp tug in my chest. Suddenly, my entire façade came crashing down; all of the fear and terror over the last few days I couldn't hold back rushing forward. I gasped for air, almost hyperventilating, and wrapped my arms around Kakashi as he awkwardly patted my head and murmured words of comfort.

A few minutes later, I felt much better. Kakashi-sensei understood. I stood up and he escorted me outside the barracks to where another familiar chakra signature angrily paced. As I emerged from the door, Sasuke jerked his face up, his eyes intensely cataloging every bandage and bruise before finally relaxing a bit.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He swallowed, trying to bring forth words that wouldn't come, but I understood. I stepped forward and hugged him, and a second later he let go of everything—his famed stoicism, his wall of emotions, everything came crashing down and for a moment he was just a thirteen year old who was afraid he'd lost everything again.

I pulled back, and if Sasuke took a swipe at his eyes to clear away some tears, I pretended not to notice.

We emerged from underground and awaiting us were two full squads of ANBU. I blinked in shock—seeing even one squad of ANBU was usually as much as any shinobi ever managed in their lifetimes (and sometimes, only at the end of it). I looked at Kakashi-sensei, who managed a drawl around his familiar orange book, "Tsunade thought you should have an escort back home, just in case you got bored and decided to blow up the countryside again."

I groaned. That was going to be a thing, wasn't it?

Sasuke managed a smirk, and I glared at him, but it was half-hearted. Apparently, they'd connected the massive explosion in Lightning to me already. Well, I guess it wasn't a surprise.

I just wanted to go home. My chest tightened at the thought; mere days ago, I'd worried that I wouldn't ever make it home again. I pushed it away and just said, "Let's go home."


	3. Chapter 3

The trip back to Konoha was both extremely fast and incredibly long. We moved at the fastest pace I could manage, which was near my top speed, but each and every step seemed to individually impress itself upon my psyche. I could feel tension building in my chest, the anticipation and dread mingling and churning in a confusing jumble of emotions.

We traveled in a modified diamond formation, Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke flanking me on either side, one squad of ANBU on a close square protective detail with the other squad further out, one in front, one behind, and one on either side. It felt like the result should have been a convoluted mess, but the ANBU were apparently well-coordinated enough that the escort was seamless and unobtrusive.

It left me mostly with my own thoughts for company. Sasuke had his Sharingan active the entire trip, cataloging every potential danger as we approached and passed, occasionally glancing my way as though to reassure himself that I was still there.

We stopped for the night a little more than halfway between the outpost and Konoha. I had enough nervous energy that I could have gone on, but Kakashi-sensei ignored me with an eye-smile and a pat on the head. Then he turned to the ANBU and gave a few rapid-fire hand signs. All eight of them nodded and disappeared into the foliage, hidden so well I wouldn't have been able to even sense them had I not known they were there.

Sasuke left and returned minutes later with several rabbits for dinner. We gutted and skinned them, then roasted them over an open fire. We ate in comfortable silence, a familiarity grown from many nights spent together just the same way on missions with Team 7.

I think I missed Naruto at that moment more than I ever had; without him, there was a hole in all of our lives. Even knowing that he'd be back didn't do much to temper the feeling.

Once we were done eating, Kakashi left the camp, little orange book in hand, to run a patrol or confer with the ANBU on guard. It left Sasuke and me alone as the campfire crackled and burned. I stared into the flames, remembering the shattered hulk of the warehouse, the charred debris, choking smoke. Matsuo stumbling his way outside, the _fwoosh_ as my sword severed his head from his neck….

I'd become so engrossed in my memories that Sasuke's voice made me almost jump out of my skin. "When you disappeared, it was chaotic. No one knew what was going on. We were at the cabins, waiting for everyone to return, and Kakashi…" Sasuke shrugged. He stared into the fire, his face thrown into stark relief against the night. "He knew something was wrong. He was _gone._ And when he came back…and you weren't there."

Sasuke's eyes met mine, and I saw the raw pain he suffered through even now. On an impulse, I reached over and grabbed his hand, and to my surprise he didn't shy away. He held mine tightly, desperately, belying the even tone of his voice. He looked away, but didn't let go.

I didn't know how to say what I wanted to say. How do you reassure someone by saying that you were as terrified as anyone? That you weren't sure if you were going wake up in a cell, to be tortured for information? Or strapped to a table to be experimented on? Or bound to a bed, and having the door open, and a man stepping inside….

So I didn't. I didn't want to ruin the moment by talking about what _could have happened._ I held Sasuke's hand, and we stared into the fire, lost in our thoughts until it was time to tuck in for the night.

XXXXX

I shouldn't have been surprised by the appearance of Konoha's gates; anyone who's traveled as much as we have knows how to judge the distance to the village based on numerous little details, but most obviously the domination of the Hashirama Trees. The further out you travel from the village, the more sporadic they are; but when they're all you see, you know you can't be all that far from home. It's almost comforting, in a way.

I don't know what I expected to find at the gates. People waiting? Ino, Sakura, Tsunade, my family? But there was no one there—the gate guards, a few merchants, but no one at all who I recognized.

Well, I recognized the gate guards—the same two who always seemed to draw the duty. I wondered if they did something that pissed Tsunade off?

Kakashi made a hand sign to (I imagine) the ANBU captains, and the two of them nodded. One of the ANBU units dispersed, but the other stayed with us as we moved into the village proper. He leapt to the rooftops, and Sasuke and I followed, still under escort by one unit of ANBU. We headed directly towards the Hokage's tower.

It occurred to me that I should probably be a little weirded out. Here I was, newly escaped from Lightning Country, and instead of any sort of warm welcome, I was under quick escort to the Hokage's tower with no one, apparently, being informed of my return. Was I under suspicion? Did they think I'd been replaced by an imposter?

Logically, I could see their point—if I were an imposter, it would be a perfect method to infiltrate the village. The cover wouldn't last, but getting into a Hidden Village can be the hardest part of any infiltration mission, and from there you can improvise. It's not the best of plans, but you can make it work.

So I didn't say anything, and let myself be escorted into the tower. The assignments desk was closed down (another obvious clue), and the only ninja I saw were the higher-ranked administrative types who doubtlessly had top-secret clearance and knew how to keep a secret. I could also catch faint traces of people, well-hidden, almost certainly more ANBU.

I tried not to take it personally.

Then, I was in the Hokage's outer office. Shizune was seated at one of the desks in the room; she looked up and when she saw me her face split into a smile. "Shikako! It's good to have you back. We were all so worried!"

Her genuine emotions, the first I'd seen since I'd entered the village, threw me completely off. I managed a smile back, the tension I hadn't notice building up in my gut easing at the friendly reaction. "Thank you, Shizune-san. I'm glad to be home," I replied, the last words almost catching in my throat.

We all waited as she slipped into the Hokage's office for a moment. Sasuke was staring at the doors, but I could tell that he was watching me in his peripheral vision. Kakashi perched himself on a secretary's desk, reading his little orange book, which didn't look weird at all in contrast with the ever-present ANBU escort.

Shizune emerged from the Hokage's office, and motioned me forward. I looked at Sasuke, who nodded to me, and Kakashi-sensei, who gave an encouraging eye-smile. Shizune held the door open for me, and I walked through into the Hokage's office.

Every time I'd been in the Hokage's office, it had been well-lit, windows uncovered and open to show the entire village spread out before us. In the Third's tenure, the atmosphere had been one of visiting a kind grandfather-figure, and since Tsunade came to power, it was much more business-like and cluttered but still with a charm of its own. Now, for the first time, it felt like the true office of the leader of an army of Shinobi—serious, without pretention, the place where someone could order the death of an individual or the massacre of a village and move on to the next mission as business as usual.

Tsunade stood behind her desk, her arms crossed, her gaze inscrutable. She'd abandoned her usual air of irritability and grumpiness, and all that stood was the implacable warrior, the one who fought alongside Jiraiya and Orochimaru and earned the title of Sannin. I gulped, almost felt the heavy weight of her stare as the seriousness of the situation pressed down on my shoulders like never before.

"Sit," she ordered, and I took the chair nearest to me. I barely heard the door shut as Shizune left; as far as I could tell, it was just the two of us, though I wouldn't have been surprised if there were a few ANBU around just in case.

Tsunade came around her desk and walked up to me. She towered over me, her face intent and focused, her cerulean eyes seeming to drill into the recesses of my mind in search of answers. "I'm going to use a technique on you that I've developed," she started, and I couldn't help but jump at her voice. "I've kept it completely to myself, and no one, not even Jiraiya or Shizune, knows that I have it."

She raised one glowing hand, giving off a soft golden light unlike any I'd seen before. It was almost soothing, even from so far away; the chakra easing tension out of my shoulders I hadn't even known I'd had. I felt almost sedated just by looking at it.

And then she put her hand on my forehead.

It was bliss; euphoria like I've never felt before. Warm and soothing, something almost deific in its presence. If I could compare it to anything, it would be that time in the Wastes in the desert when my dying body was engulfed by the energy of the chakra spirit—only this didn't absorb me until I wasn't me anymore. It felt like a blessing, like the hand of God himself reached out and wrapped my soul in warmth.

"Tell me your name," Tsunade's voice echoed as if from far away.

"Shikako Nara," I answered without hesitation.

"When did we first meet?"

"You woke me from a coma…."

Questions went on like that for some time; under the effects of this technique, I had no sense of time passing. It could have been five minutes or two weeks, and I don't think I would be able to tell the difference.

Eventually, Tsunade pulled her hand away; and if being under the jutsu was like embracing the sun, being pulled out was a nuclear winter. I felt cold; cold and empty, my body screaming to return to the safety and serenity it had been ripped away from. I shivered and shook like I was going through withdrawal.

Tsunade sat back against her desk and let out a weary sigh. "I don't like that technique very much. It stimulates the neurons to produce endorphins in massive quantities, leaving even the most torture-resistant veteran a quivering mess. It's easy to extract information using it, because the brain is overwhelmed with pleasure, and your cognitive senses are set on standby. Of course, using it can cause an addictive effect, so I usually wouldn't use it on someone I cared about surviving."

I watched as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Her words let me center myself, and focusing on what she was saying seemed to bring me out of the fugue-like state I'd been in. I controlled my shaking, for the most part, and nodded to her.

A tightness in her face eased at my acceptance of what she had to do. I didn't like it, but if the alternative was an actual interrogation, then I could deal.

Tsunade took a deep breath, then turned and walked around to sit at her desk. "Of course, I believed it was you from the get-go, but I had to be _certain_. I've healed that body of yours enough that an imposter isn't getting past me," she smirked as I blushed; _excessive hospitalization,_ indeed _,_ "but we all have our duties, and I couldn't let even the slightest possibility of an outside agent infiltrating the home of the Jounin Commander. Isn't that right, Shikaku?"

I jumped and turned as a familiar chakra signature revealed itself. There stood my dad, _daddy,_ looking down at me in his trademark lazy slouch, his clenched fists and tight smile the only signs of the emotional turmoil he was feeling. And then I was up and in his arms, clinging with all my strength, and he was hugging me back.

It felt great.

After a few minutes, I pulled away. He returned my smile with one of his own and said, "You're taking after that sensei of yours. All your fellow genin returned days ago."

I laughed and hugged him again. It was a weak joke that I was undoubtedly going to hear over and over again, but I didn't care at that moment. For the first time since stepping inside the gates of Konoha, I felt like I was home.

XXXXX

"…and then I crossed the border from Tea, and met the patrol. You know the rest," I summed up my report in full some time later. I was sitting in the same chair I was interrogated in, my dad in a matching one right next to me, leaning back as if he were about to fall asleep. He'd grabbed my hand when I started talking about what Matsuo had said, and didn't let go throughout my entire tale.

Tsunade nodded her head, her eyes staring into the distance as she digested the information. She fingered the scroll full of storage seals I'd taken from the base before I'd blown it up, and something about the twist of her lips made me think of a cat that had cornered a mouse and was contemplating the most satisfying way to eat it.

"Well, I have to compliment you on your quick thinking," She said, after a few more moments of contemplation. "You created a diversion that threw their pursuit into disarray and found an indirect route back to Fire Country. And, of course, that's not taking into account the information you've brought back on the inner workings of Hidden Cloud." She sent a predatory grin towards my dad, and I could practically feel his lazy smirk.

"This is going to have to be kept under wraps," dad muttered, his hand tightening around mine. "If Hidden Cloud is able to claim some sort of conspiracy on the part of Konoha, it might mean war."

I could see his point. A Konoha shinobi renowned for explosives disappears, dozens of Cloud nin are killed in explosions in Lightning Country, and then that shinobi reappears in Konoha? Sand would stand with us, but they weren't very strong right now, and Lightning might take the opportunity to start a war, claiming to be the wronged party. And to outside observers, their version of events could ring with enough truth to take hold, in spite of whatever counter claims Konoha made.

Our best hope would be if Cloud felt the inevitable airing of their own dirty laundry would hurt their reputation more than would make it worthwhile. But the Raikage didn't seem to me to be the sort to let this go without some sort of retaliation.

"That might be inevitable, at this point, but I agree. I'm classifying this as an S-Class secret," Tsunade interrupted my musings, her brow furrowed, her nails tapping against her desk in a staccato rhythm. "Your disappearance is already common knowledge, but the rest of the details must remain top secret. Particularly regarding your escape."

I nodded. It wasn't a surprise, really, although I was a little perturbed that everyone would pretty much know I was kidnapped. Then again, between my many instances of chakra exhaustion and almost dying in the Hokage's office that one time, my reputation was pretty much in tatters already.

At some unseen signal, dad stood up, and I stood up with him. He still held my hand, and I couldn't bring myself to let go.

"Oh, and one last thing," Tsunade opened up a drawer in her desk and pulled out a vest—a chuunin vest. She was smirking, but I could see a hint of relief in her eyes. "This was going to be yours, so it's only right that you receive it now. The other eight received yours before we departed Grass. If I hadn't thought you'd earned it during the exams, I can't argue that you don't, now. Congratulations."

I reached across her desk and grabbed it. The vest was forest green, soft to the touch yet strong and durable, lined with pockets and compartments to store what any chuunin might need for any occasion. I put it on. It was snug but unrestricting, comfortable and surprisingly light. I smiled. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

XXXXX

After a quick trip across the rooftops, dad and I landed in the Nara clan holdings, right outside our house. I could feel mom's chakra in the kitchen, but Shikamaru's wasn't present—on a mission or training, or something else, I don't know—but I hesitated at the door. I was nervous, for some reason, but I couldn't put into words why.

Dad stepped up and opened the door for me, then nudged me inside with an encouraging smile. I took my vest off and hung it on the hook, then stood, uncertain, for a moment before I shook off my feelings of awkwardness. "Mom?" I called out, a little unsure.

There was a beat of silence, and then faster than I'd ever seen any Nara move, she was there, standing in the entryway, her face pale and eyes round in shock. "Shikako?" She gasped, and then suddenly I was in her arms, and she was hugging me so tightly I couldn't breathe, but I just hugged her back because I was happy to be _home_.

I could feel her shudder as she held back sobs and just let her cling to me. After what seemed like ages mom pulled back, her hands going to my face, smoothing my hair, running over my arms, as if she couldn't believe I was back. "Oh, Shikako," she rasped.

"Mommy," I choked, and then we were hugging again and crying. And dad was there, and I felt his arm around my back too. For the first time, I felt myself really let go—all the fear and terror I'd felt since I woke up in that cell came flooding out of me. I cried and sobbed, and the entire time, my parents were right there as we clung together for support.

After what seemed like forever, but was probably only a few minutes, I pulled away a bit. Not completely, I don't think mom would have let me go, but enough to wipe my face with my sleeve. "Where's Shika?" I asked, my voice sounding almost as rough as when I'd woken after my month-long hospital stay. I had my emotions back under control, but they felt raw and wild, barely tame.

"He should be at his team's training grounds," dad responded. "I sent a clone to let them know that you're back. I imagine the three of them should be back here soon—"

Three familiar chakra signatures were suddenly at the door, which burst open hard enough to dent the wall. Surprisingly, it was Ino who launched herself at me, tackling me to the ground as Chouji and Shikamaru stood in the doorway. Chouji had a grin splitting his face from ear to ear, but Shikamaru—Shikamaru looked at me like I was a ghost, as if I'd…well, disappear into thin air if he dared look away.

Ino was clinging to me as I lay on the floor, slightly dazed from the unexpected attack. "Oh God, Shikako, I'm sorry, but—I should have—you were there, and then—"

I let her babble away as I patted her back awkwardly. Well, ok sure, I got where she was coming from. One moment, I'd been standing next to her, and the next, I was gone.

Still, I could wish she'd held back a bit on the enthusiasm. Being tackled like that _hurt_.

XXXXX

A short while later, I was sitting on the couch, with Ino to one side and Shika to the other. Chouji had made himself comfortable on dad's recliner, and mom and dad had retreated to the kitchen to put together dinner—although I doubted that the majority of their attention wasn't on us here in the living room. I'd probably have them hovering-without-hovering for a while (in that way only ninja parents can), but I didn't mind.

Sasuke'd shown up at some point, I hadn't noticed when, but he leaned unobtrusively against the wall, separate but not excluded, just the way he liked it. I glanced at him knowingly, and he gave me a _look_. Somehow I managed to keep the smirk off my face.

After her emotional outburst, Ino had calmed down, settling for keeping a death grip on my hand. Shikamaru hadn't said anything yet, but his arm was around my shoulders as I leaned into him. I felt relaxed and safe, my friends and family all around me in the warmth of home.

We'd been sitting for a while before I spoke up. "There's not much I can really tell you guys about it," I started. "It's an S-Class secret. Tsunade-sama doesn't want the details getting out."

Shika snorted, but Ino clenched my hand even tighter. I looked her way, and she had an intense look on her face. I could tell what she wanted to ask, and shook my head no. She relaxed, looking relieved.

I rested my head on Shikamaru's shoulder. I knew what he wanted to say—I could even see his point, a little, although I wouldn't let it stop me. But he held his tongue, and I loved him for that.

"It was terrifying," I said, after a few moments had passed. "I wasn't sure if I'd even see home again. But they underestimated me, and I made them pay for it."

I thought back, to waking up in the cell, to sneaking through the corridors, ambushing all those people in their offices. To fleeing from the ninja on my tail, setting off those explosive seals as their pursuit closed in on me. The giant explosive seal that killed dozens.

"Eighty seven," I muttered. I probably shouldn't have said that much, but I couldn't stop myself. "I killed eighty seven of them."

I remembered the feeling, of each chakra signature flickering out, like candle lights against a stiff breeze. I started shaking, my breath hitching in my throat, and then Chouji was kneeling at my feet, his hand on my knee. He was uncharacteristically solemn, a serious look that I'd never seen on his jovial face. "You did what you had to, and you're home now. Don't regret that."

I got my breathing under control, and felt my head give a shaky nod. He was right. There wasn't anything to regret. "Thanks, Chouji."

He nodded back. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a bag of potato chips, opening and offering it to me. "Want one?"

I huffed a laugh, and Ino rolled her eyes and started berating him for his obsession with food, and Sasuke smirked, and Shikamaru chuckled. I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and settled back into the couch, a smile on my face as I was surrounded by friends and family.


End file.
